


Red, Purple, and Gold

by OhanaHoku



Series: Whumptober 2020 Prompts [30]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Blood and Injury, Feels, Friendship, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Grieving knights, Hurt Merlin (Merlin), Hurt No Comfort, Ignoring an Injury, Immortal Merlin (Merlin), Internal Organ Injury, Male Friendship, Merlin Needs a Hug (Merlin), Merlin's Magic Revealed (Merlin), October Prompt Challenge, One Shot, One Shot Collection, Prompt Fic, Prompt Fill, Short One Shot, Temporary Character Death, Tumblr Prompt, Whump, Whumptober, Whumptober 2020, Worried Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Worried Gwaine (Merlin), internal bleeding, no.30, wound reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:48:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27318763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OhanaHoku/pseuds/OhanaHoku
Summary: After battling a mythical creature, Merlin is left bleeding internally. But warlocks mustn't reveal their secrets.Day Thirty of Whumptober 2020 - Now Where Did That Come From? - Wound Reveal, Ignoring an Injury, Internal Organ Injury
Relationships: Gwaine & Merlin (Merlin), Knights of the Round Table & Merlin (Merlin), Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Whumptober 2020 Prompts [30]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949965
Comments: 14
Kudos: 191





	Red, Purple, and Gold

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sakarrie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakarrie/gifts), [smolbeanmerlin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/smolbeanmerlin/gifts).



> I hope you guys really enjoy this one! It's one of my favorites for this Whumptober. :D Also, this fic is gifted to two of my readers, sakarrie and smolbeanmerlin, who both left sweet, encouraging comments on a previous prompt fill that is similar to this one. Thanks for the encouragement, both of you! Hope you like this one as well, guys! <3
> 
> Triggers in Tags.

Every step was agony, sharp nettles of pain digging angrily into his side and slowly spreading to his stomach. Blood was rushing to his ears, pounding in tune to his heartbeat. His vision blurred until his entire world narrowed down to just the spiking pain and the deafening sound of his own pulse.

The only thing that kept him moving forward was instinct, an innate sense urging him to blend in with the men walking around him.

The men were talking, laughing and joking to ease the wear of battle on their minds and celebrate their victory. But he, he was silent.

Someone gripped his shoulder, shaking him in a jovial manner, and copper tinged vomit crept up the back of his throat. He swallowed it back down, but only a second later, it gushed back up, too forceful to hold back.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

"Well, all I can say is that I envy Merlin, getting to stay behind in the village, helping the healers tend to the injured. Right, mate?" Gwaine prompted happily, clapping Merlin's shoulder.

The men ahead of them grinned, glancing back at the two in anticipation of the servant's sassy comeback, only to see Merlin's face go pale. As they watched, the man staggered off the beaten path, falling to his knees as he retched.

"Merlin!" In mere milliseconds, Gwaine and Arthur were at his side, supporting him as his arms failed, and he nearly collapsed into the mess.

Gwaine pulled him back, supporting him against his chest, and Arthur stared in shock at the mess Merlin had thrown up.

Leon's voice slightly wavered as he spoke, standing behind the king. "Is that…?"

"Blood." Arthur nodded, looking at the black clumps of coagulated plasma among the bile and liquid blood. Worry twisting in his stomach, Arthur turned to Merlin, who was barely conscious and lifted his shirt to check for injuries.

All five of the knights gasped when they saw Merlin's stomach, the entire right side of his torso bruised in deep reds and purples.

"Merlin… How did this happen?" Arthur whispered.

The man blinked, eyes hardly opening as he answered. “T-Tyrant.” He whispered before passing out, his eyes rolling back.

“Merlin?” Gwaine whispered, his eyes wide as he reached to feel Merlin’s pulse. A moment later, he looked up at the others and shook his head.

Tears filled the men’s eyes as they all looked away, Arthur going so far as to get up and walk away, trying to contain an emotional outburst.

“How did this happen?” Arthur asked, his voice rough with grief. “Merlin was nowhere near that beast.”

No one answered him, for no one knew the answer.

The decision to make camp and dig a grave for Merlin was a silent one, unspoken but understood by all as their king gathered wood for a fire. The five knights moved about quietly as they made camp, each one unsure of how to react to their friend’s death. They busied themselves, trying to ignore the tears rolling down their faces as they put off digging the grave for as long as possible. None wanted to face the task until Gwaine took a swig of ale from his canteen and set to work, Percival soon joining him.

It was getting dark by the time the grave was dug, and Arthur moved to pull back the blanket they had wrapped Merlin’s body in, intending to place his signet ring on Merlin’s finger as a tribute to his servant and loyal friend.

When he lifted the blanket, though, the king cried out in shock. The blanket slipped from his fingers, and everyone gathered around to see the golden glow coming through Merlin’s shirt where his injuries were.

“What’s that?” Elyan asked, the only one to ask what they were all wondering.

Arthur shook his head slowly, and Gwaine slowly knelt down, pushing Merlin’s shirt back cautiously. With the cloth out of the way, the golden glow flickering and moving through his stomach was as bright as day, making the red and purple bruises flare in an almost beautiful manner.

In the silence that followed, Gwaine breathed a single, soft word.

_ “Magic.” _

**Author's Note:**

> Word Count - 692. Yes. This one shot shall have a follow up at some point, I promise! Not a long one, just a chapter or two, I think. That'll wrap it up nicely. ;D Let me know what you guys think of this one!
> 
> Also, the beast they fought was an [Odontotyrannos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odontotyrannos). The region for this mythical creature isn't anywhere close to Camelot, but, oh well. XD
> 
> I sometimes post fic recommendations on [ my tumblr](https://ohanahoku-ao3.tumblr.com/) between updates, so go check that out!


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